


The Path You Choose

by LunaJade



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Acceptance, Aether Foundation, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Trauma, Flashbacks, Forgiveness, Gen, Internal Conflict, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Acceptance, Team Skull (Pokemon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-09-07 02:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20302168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaJade/pseuds/LunaJade
Summary: "If you're really trying to get stronger as you say, than what're you depending on Team Skull for?"~~That's the exact question Gladion has been asking himself--even he does not know why. Nothing has changed in the two years he's been away from the Aether Foundation. What could he possibly hope to gain anymore? Did he even know himself? After everything he'd done and been through? He couldn't even understand himself.Then he encountered that strange police officer. Then things suddenly got a lot more complicated.He never realized just how much his encounter with the old man would mean to him.(Gladion meets Nanu+Gladion gets his Z-Ring+Misc. Other Scenes)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So the quote that I put there in the summary was actually my whole inspiration for this piece. (And also adding in the fact that Gladion has suffered way too much trauma in his life)  
From the minute I played the game and saw this quote, I really wanted to know more. I'd wondered how Gladion and Nanu knew each other--unless if they had an actual, personal interaction, I don't think Nanu would know Gladion's (presumed) reason for joining Team Skull. Also there's the fact that Gladion knew him and was (quite) shocked when Nanu appeared at the Ula'Ula Docks and challenged the player to a battle. (Now that I look back at it, I kind of almost wonder whether it was intended to be a joke or some kind of deep quote--since most Team Skull grunts are super weak, lol. I've always thought of this as a really deep, meaningful quote though, and always will)  
And that fact that Gladion states that he got his Z-Ring from "that old man" (most likely indicating Nanu), hints that they had another interaction--one maybe a bit emotional/meaningful.
> 
> Anyways, I've really been looking forward to publishing this piece! I hope you all like it! This was only the intro, so the next chapter is going to be much, much, longer.

_The jobs used to be small. Normally they were—his job in the team wasn’t even anything major: he made sure they followed the rules, that no one stepped out of line, that no one acted stupid or turned on them. He despised them with every part of his being. It reminded him too much of what he was trying so hard not to be. _

_ He never really hung around the other grunts—it was obvious they hated him. He hated them too. But that was fine. He’d only joined to get stronger, hadn’t he? Until he could find a valuable source of information, until he could unlock those chains locked around its neck. It was okay. He was used to being the ignored, used to being the outcast. He’d never fit in anywhere. He’d never fit in at the foundation, never even fit in with his family._

_ The only person who didn’t cast him out was his boss. He’d never known, or at least remembered, what it was like to have parental figure in his life, so maybe it was weird that even if he hated being apart of their group, even if they were all just a bunch of criminals, he saw his boss almost like an uncle, maybe even a father figure. In a way he felt like he’d been accepted somewhere…even if he hated being a criminal. And though he mostly ignored it, the boss praised his strength, gave him a hearty clap on the back when he won a battle._

_ Then the boss gave him another job. It was the first one of its kind that he’d ever heard of. At first, he was appalled. Their group usually performed similar acts but to a lesser extreme. Why step it up now?_

_ But the boss had taken notice of his distance as of late. That he rarely ever talked to anyone, that he never smiled. He’d always been that way, but in recent weeks it had become more obvious. He hated the jobs more and more with each passing week, day, minute._

_ “I know it was your choice when you joined,” the boss said. “So I’ll give you another one. How about this? Perform this last job. Then I’ll give you a choice. You may stay, or, if you so desire, I will allow you to leave the group.”_

_ He was not sure how he wanted to respond. He didn’t know how to make that choice. He decided he’d leave the decision until later._

_ So later that night he went on his way. It hurt him deeply, cut straight into his beliefs, to break into the center, simply to take._

_ “You have a background in science and technology, don’t you?” the boss had inquired. “Then you’ll be fine.” His dark grey eyes cast a sort of curious glint._

_ And yet he still hated it. Why was he allowing himself to do these things? He’d planned to make up for it once he’d put a stop to her schemes. He’d do something, anything, to make things right. There was so much guilt he’d had bottled up, so many crimes he’d committed._

_ He didn’t know he’d be atoning for them this way._

_ The sun was just peaking over the stretch of cobalt sea, casting a haunting glow over the islands. And yet he couldn’t focus on that. The thing he was focused on was the tight metal locks digging into his wrists, biting and not letting go. The ice-cold steel burned his skin, implanting memories, branding that moment. He heard its click, the small noise an echo in his head._

_ How had it come to this? He hadn’t messed up, he knew that without hesitation. Besides battling, this was his area. He knew every skill, every secret when it came to technology. Hacking into the center’s system had been easy. The boss had been right about that factor. _

_ The old man, the kahuna, was gently pushing him towards the police car. He felt the eyes on his back. Watching. There were so many people watching._

_ “Why would some kid break into the Pokémon Center…” people whispered._

_ “Is he a part of Team Skull?”_

_ “How horrible…”_

_ His steps were heavy. The officer motioned for him to get in. Before he did, he glanced briefly back over his shoulder, and then he saw the boss, all the way at the back of the crowd. A split second later, they caught one another’s eye._

_ His expression was hard to read. The boss’s lips were curved into some shape, and from this distance he couldn’t tell if he was smiling or frowning. Then he saw the man close his eyes and release a sigh._

_ And with that Guzma left., vanishing. Just another one leaving, another one gone._


	2. Chapter 2

Nanu released a heavy sigh and sat himself down in the chair, setting the clipboard and paper down on the empty table. The station was eerily quiet—maybe it was just because it was way too early in the morning and no one was here yet, but the silence was almost unnerving.

Across from him, the teen he’d just arrested sat with a blank, guarded expression, his eyes slowly glancing from him to the corners of the room, his pen to the clipboard, and finally back, staring ruefully down at the handcuffs shackled tightly around his pale wrists, his hands covered in faded white scars. Particularly on his left hand, the marks were almost symmetrical from the back to palm, shaped suspiciously like teeth or claw marks. Nanu wondered who or what had caused the boy to gain those marks.

The boy was strangely familiar…he reminded Nanu of someone. The clothes definitely didn’t. He certainly _looked_ like he belonged with Team Skull, what with his black sweatshirt and jeans. (Nanu wondered what kind of insane person would wear that kind of outfit willingly in the heat of the Alola region.)

Still, there was something about the kid’s face…the curve of his face, maybe, or the paleness of his skin. Even the mysterious glint of or the sharp shape of his emerald colored eyes.

Ah…_that_ was who he was reminded of. Was it possible that it was him? Whether Nanu was right or wrong, there was no doubt that the boy reminded him of her. If he was right and that was the case, then he’d certainly changed since Nanu had last seen him.

So just how and why had he gotten caught up with Team Skull? And why target the Pokémon Center? The questions were piling up.

“Alright…let’s get started then, shall we?”

~~

_“Standing on the precipice, but I refuse to fall. I was born into this, but I don’t understand it at all.”_

-MandoPony (“Nullified”)

~~

“Let’s get started then, shall we?”

He did not speak a word, did not move a muscle. The handcuffs were locked tightly around his wrists—secure enough that he was sure they’d leave bruises—and he was tempted to try to adjust them, but didn’t.

“Alright then…name?”

“…”

“_Name?”_

“…”

“Y’know, things will go by a lot faster if you just _speak_.”

“…”

“…” The officer sighed and set down his pen. “Stubborn, huh?”

He simply raised an eyebrow, as if daring the man to question him.

“…Answer, please. It’ll make things a lot easier on both of us. I don’t wanna be here all day, and I’m sure you don’t either.”

“…Fine.” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Gladion.”

“Gladion…” The officer muttered this to himself as he began to jot down some notes. “Well then, Gladion, I guess I’ll start with the questioning.”

“Why did you join Team Skull?”

That was what a lot of the other grunts asked him. “To get stronger,” he said, repeating the same thing he’d responded with every single time.

_It’s a lot more complicated than that, _he thought. _But they don’t need to know why._

“Huh…” The old man didn’t look convinced. “And what do you have to say about your…_excursion_ to the Pokémon center last night? It doesn’t seem like Team Skull’s normal M.O.. At least…the ‘sneaking in stealthily at night’ part doesn’t.”

“That’s what I’d wondered as well,” Gladion responded. “And yet here I am.”

“What can you tell me about it?”

“Well, I didn’t know much when Guzma gave me the job.” That was one thing he was certain of. “He just told me he thought I’d be good at it.”

“Good at it how?”

“I…” He’d have to pick his next words carefully. “I have…_experience_…with technology.”

“I see…” the man was staring down at his paper, lazily writing things down. “So because of your background with it, Guzma assumed you’d be good at hacking and breaking in undetected. What kind of background?”

“My family is made up of scientists.”

“That so?” the officer said. “Well, what else can you tell me? If this was some kind of special, new type of job, Guzma must’ve had some explanation.”

“I mean, I didn’t get an explanation, but, well…he said I could make the choice to leave Team Skull after the job. But—”

The officer looked up in surprise, unintentionally letting the clipboard drop to the smooth concrete floor. “He gave you the option to leave? He doesn’t seem like the type of person to do those types of things Do you know why?”

“…No.” _I can’t tell him. If I do...no. Do I really want to share who I am? Who I was?_

“How exactly did you come to join Team Skull, anyway?”

“Guzma wanted someone strong to join the team. Then he ran into me. Then he made me into his enforcer.” It was a partial truth. Guzma really had come across him coincidentally. At the time, Gladion had just escaped his mother’s clutches with Type: Null, and was terrified and alone. He had no other living family besides his mother and sister, so he’d had nowhere to go. He’d contemplated asking Wicke if he could stay with her, but decided against it when he realized that if he was caught, Wicke would be in trouble too.

So Gladion had simply wandered around Akala Island for four days, sleeping outside beneath shady palm trees, trying to make sense of where he was going and trying to find a motel of some sort. While it hadn’t been comfortable, at the same time it had been strangely comforting. He didn’t know the islands that well—ever since his father had died, he’d rarely ever seen the outside of the Aether Foundation. The bright, stark white of the facility had become all he knew, leaving him only to his memories and imagination of the world beyond the azure sea.

When he’d finally arrived at the motel, he’d had to carefully consider how much of his money to use. Wicke had given him some before he’d left, and he’d also taken a decent bit from his mother. He’d decided on paying for a month up front, and just keep going until he had the chance to strike back and put an end to his mother’s schemes. He’d find some way to make money until he could go back, until he released Null’s helm.

After paying (with a raised eyebrow from the woman working there), he’d sat down, right outside the door of his room, a course of exhaustion and faded adrenaline sweeping over him. It was just him and Null now. They’d make it…somehow…

His hand had still throbbed from when Null had lashed out at him. He’d gingerly unwrapped the bandages he’d applied days earlier, staring through weary eyes at the dried crimson staining the white adhesive. The marks were still an angry red, and he didn’t want to keep staring at it all night, so he did his best to apply fresh bandages, Null purring tiredly in its prison next to him. He passed out soon after, right up against the wall of his room.

After a week, he still felt lost. He had no idea where to begin. He and Null were sitting at an outcropping behind the motel, just overlooking the ocean, and the salty breeze had never felt more comforting.

Then he’d heard footsteps and looked up to see Guzma. Hurriedly he’d called Null back to its Pokeball as the tall man approached, standing up warily.

And that’d been it. All it had taken was a battle, his _first ever battle_, then a choice.

_“You may have lost, but you’re pretty strong, kid. Would you like to join us?”_

Now, even as Gladion thought back, he truly wondered if it had just been a coincidence. Fate? Destiny…? No. It wasn’t like he’d even made it that far.

“…really the case?” came the officer’s voice.

Gladion started, blinking quickly to come back to his senses. He’d been so deep in his memories, that he hadn’t realized that the man had started talking again.

“What?” he said.

“Is that really how you joined? By pure coincidence?”

“Yes. That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

“Did you enjoy being a part of Team Skull?”

“I-I guess…” he said. He didn’t. He hated them, with every part of his being. So many times while he’d been with Team Skull had he felt like he was back at Aether, to a lesser extent.

_“’Ya know, just because ya are an enforcer doesn’t mean you belong here!”_

_ “Yeah! What the heck did Guzma even see in you anyways?”_

Of course, whether some of it was the grunts being petty or actually sharing their hatred for him, it didn’t matter.

“Really?” The old man sighed. “You don’t seem so sure.”

“Well, I—”

“It’s all in your face, kid. The look of hesitation you had before you answered me. The way you guiltily stare down at your hands. Try building up a better poker face next time, if you really want to fool someone.”

“I—” A better poker face. _And yet that’s all I’ve done. For years. Not just when I joined Team Skull. _He’d ignored every insult the grunts had thrown his way, tried to forget the way his mother had looked whenever he was near her. He’d tried to block out the sounds of Null’s terrified cries when Lusamine had locked it in its helmet, the seething malice on her face unmistakable. Even though he’d hoped to go back when he was ready, when he’d freed Null and knew how to stop her, every time he contemplated it, he felt like his younger self—terrified, afraid to fight back. It kept coming. No matter how hard he tried, the memories would keep flooding back.

A better poker face.

_ I’ve tried. So hard._

“It’s obvious you don’t enjoy being a part of them. If you hate being one of them, why consider it? Why did you stay?”

_I guess as of recent, because of Cosmog. _Three months ago, he’d wandered past Guzma’s room only to overhear him talking to Plumeria about how they “needed to find Cosmog as soon as possible”. He’d been so surprised that he was nearly caught eavesdropping, and the minute he left the house, his brain had started working.

How had Team Skull found out about Cosmog? And why were they looking for it so badly? The only ones who knew of its existence was him, his sister, Lusamine, and some other Aether Foundation employees. Suddenly he had another goal besides trying to get Null’s helm off. Find Cosmog. If Team Skull got their hands on it…

_Is that really why? What about before you discovered that Team Skull knew about Cosmog?_

“Well?” the officer said. “Come on. Let’s make this quick, shall we?”

_Because I needed somewhere to go. Because I wanted to prepare myself. Because I needed to survive. Because…_

_ Because I had nowhere else to go. _

“…” The man sighed and leaned forward, his chair gently scraping the floor. “You’ve sure changed a lot since we last met.”

“Well—” _Wait a second_. He shook his head in disbelief. “What do you mean? Isn’t this the first time we’ve met—”

“Gladion Aether, age 16, born in November, correct?”

“Wait, how did you—”

“Formerly lived with your mother and younger sister at the Aether Foundation until you suddenly disappeared two years ago.”

_He knows. He knows I…wait. Don’t tell me he knows about Null too?! _It was possible. Nanu had confiscated all of his belongings before leading him to the room, including his Pokémon. _No…_No. He couldn’t panic. He couldn’t let him find out.

“I’m old friends with your mother, you know. First time I met you was for some gathering or reunion of sorts your parents had organized. I think you were maybe…6?”

Gladion racked his brain, trying to think. A reunion…when he was 6…Two years before his father’s death…

_Wait a minute…_he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it earlier.

“Nanu?!”

The old man rolled his eyes. “You realize I look exactly the same as I did nine years ago, right?”

“I—”

“So what exactly happened? Why turn to crime?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” he said, trying to keep himself calm. “You’d never.” _You wouldn’t._ _Couldn’t. _

“Does it have something to do with why you disappeared two years ago?”

“Who knows?” he retorted, quiet, dangerous. He could feel his breathing steadily growing heavier, the pain from the past slowly catching up with him. _No. _“So what if it does?”

“Was it even a disappearance though?” Nanu said quietly. “I fairly remember your mother calling me the night you vanished. Was worried sick, you know. Said you were gone without a trace. Given your responses, there seems to be something more than that.”

And that was it. Gladion felt something inside him snap.

_Worried sick._

_ “Lillie, are you okay? What happened? Why are you crying?”_

_ Worried sick._

_ “I’m the one who runs things around here, not you.”_

_ Worried._

_ “Mother, what are you doing?! Stop! Don’t hurt it!”_

_ Sick._

_ “You dare care so much for the beast?!” **Slap.** “How dare you talk back to me. Leave! Now!”_

He didn’t mean to, but he let a brittle laugh escape his lips. He probably sounded insane, but he didn’t care. He’d been labeled worse.

“_Worried?_” he said, practically laughing breathlessly. “_Worried_? Surely you’re joking. I left _because_ of her.”

Nanu’s face was curious. “Because of her?”

“Nothing was ever the same after my father died,” Gladion said. “She…she—”

The kahuna tilted his head ever so slightly. “She what?” he said quietly, comforting.

_She changed. She hurt us. Trapped us. Turned us into objects. Created life only to trap it too. Made sure the only thing we knew was fear, until all we could rely on was each other._

_ She became a beast._

“She changed,” he hissed instead. “She was never the same. Then one day I knew I couldn’t live with it anymore, so I left.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Just not the full picture.

Why was he hiding it? And so suddenly? Why? Had something changed?

Why not let people know about the monster that dwelled within Lusamine Aether’s heart?

Why should he protect her?

Nanu didn’t look fazed by his sudden change in attitude. He simply sat there, his maroon eyes both blank and piercing at the same time—

“Really? Is that really all there is to it?”

_As if he could see through him._

“Yes,” he said, but it wasn’t enough. He could feel the barest cracks appearing at the edge of his voice, threatening to break further until it finally reached his core. He felt his left hand shaking, twitching, as if Null had just bitten it again—he felt its sharp pain all over again, felt the surprising warmth of his blood streaming and dripping off his palm, felt the damage set in.

He found himself at age thirteen, hiding in his room, trying not to cry as Wicke knocked on the door asking if he was alright and if she could come in to try to help. It had been one of the few times she’d hurt him, ending with bruises covering him, even with a cut below his eye. He couldn’t stand seeing it. His hair had been growing out at the time, so he let it grow over his eye so he didn’t have to see it whenever he stared at himself in the mirror.

_No. _It was too much. With a sudden burst of emotion, he slammed his fist into the table, trying to contain himself, a _clank _echoing through the room. He felt his breathing grow heavier, more ragged. He could feel himself trembling, his body shaking from the fear. He glanced down ever so slightly and saw the drops of crimson marring the table. He’d clenched his hands so tightly that he’d actually pierced his skin and drawn blood.

And Nanu had noticed too. He quickly stood and grabbed a first-aid kit, making his way towards him.

“Stop that,” he said. “You’re hurting yourself.”

Gladion wanted to back away. To jump up, grab his Pokémon and to leave this place, and never think about Team Skull, the Aether Foundation, or his mother ever again.

But he didn’t. He simply sat there in a stunned silence, only numbly aware of his surroundings as Nanu gently took his hands and wrapped them in bandages. Once again, Gladion thought back to when he freed Null.

The night he’d run away. The night he’d left it all behind.

He’d been 14. He’d snuck into Faba’s office, taken his keycard that would give the elevator access to the secret labs. He’d only been down there once before, a little over a year prior—the day Lusamine had decided that it was useless.

If he hadn’t argued with her about it earlier that day, he probably would’ve forgotten it, just run away by himself. And yet…

_“That’s right, you don’t. Did you ever really care? Did you ever hesitate whenever you yelled at us? Did you ever give us a chance? Or did you just immediately declare us failures, the same way you did for Null?”_

_ “You dare speak to me that way?” the pallor in her face was unmistakable. “I’ve given you and your sister all the love I have!”_

_ He snorted then. He could feel his anger rising. “’All the love you have’. Which amounts to nothing, right? Mother, please. Stop. Your research on the Ultra Beasts has changed you. Please, just--” _

_ “This research is my being!” she screeched. “You try to strip me of my life’s work?”_

_ “’Your life’s work’…what about Type: Null? You never gave it a chance, did you? If you were really, truly dedicated to your work, wouldn’t you have continued to work on Type: Null to fix it, rather than lock it away because it doesn’t serve your needs on the first try?”_

_ “What?! You dare care so much for the beast?!” she screeched. _

** _Slap_ ** _. He suddenly felt the pain emerge from his cheek. He nearly toppled over not from the pain but rather the surprise._

_“How dare you talk back to me,” she hissed, her eyes cruel and unrecognizable. “Leave! Now!”_

So he had. After quietly confiding in Wicke about it, he’d left that very night. And yet as he left he couldn’t help but feel like something was missing.

_“You dare care so much for the beast?!”_

He couldn’t leave. Not when Null was still trapped. In a way it was as if he felt a connection to it…as if they were made for each other. They both wanted another chance. They both wanted freedom.

_He couldn’t leave it trapped. _

“You alright?” Nanu said quietly. Gladion felt the old man lay a hand on his shoulder, gentle, comforting. With a start, he realized he was crying. Ragged, choked gasps escaped his lips, the tears flowed slowly but surely and hit the table, the minute noise it made a roaring echo in his head.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” The old man leaned forward trying to get his attention.

_“This…**monstrosity** is not worthy of my time.”_

_“If that is truly what you believe, then you are no son of mine.”_

_“You’re not a true member of Team Skull, and you never will be. Got it? You better get it.”_

_“I MADE you.”_

And maybe…maybe they were right. Maybe all he was was because of what other people made him. He wasn’t anyone’s son. He wasn’t a ‘true member’. He was still just an ornament, an item his mother had sculpted with her strongest tools: The fear she instilled, the harshness of her words, her value of beauty. He thought of Lillie. _Lillie._ He’d left her. He hoped she was alright. Wicke had promised she would always look after her, no matter what, but as to what happened after he’d left…maybe Lusamine had taken her rage out on her and his sister. What had he done? _He’d left her_.

“Hey, kid, answer me.” Nanu’s voice had suddenly gotten more serious. “What’s---”

“_No…_” he gasped, breathless. The room suddenly seemed colder. He could feel himself shaking, trembling, the past washing over him like a flood. “D-Don’t…” The tears fell faster. _No. _It was too much--

“What did she do?” Nanu said. “Tell me what’s wrong. Is there anything I can--”

_No. There’s nothing you can do. This is my fight--I have to be the one to--_

“Are you alright?”

_Yes. Say yes--_

“N-No…” And that was it. He tried to stop it, but he didn’t. He broke.

And he cried. Horrible, heartbroken crying. He felt he should’ve been embarrassed, but he wasn’t. He was most certainly well aware of Nanu standing there--Gladion couldn’t read his expression, not through the blurs of his tears.

“Please…please…” he whispered painfully, hoarsely, choking on his words. _Desperate._

And before he could stop himself, he said those last two words, the ones he’d never wanted to say, not to anyone. This was supposed to be his responsibility, wasn’t it? And yet…

_“Help me…”_

~~

_“If you could only save me, I’m drowning in the waters of my soul.”_

-Imagine Dragons (“Nothing Left to Say")

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This actually ended up turning out different than I'd planned. Originally I'd wanted Gladion to break down solely from Nanu's questioning, but I prefer how this turned out, what with his PTSD flashbacks.  
Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
